Course Dates
Course details
Academic team
Key Features
Aims of the course
- To introduce learners to critical study of Shakespeare’s late plays.
- To equip learners with the background knowledge and critical tools needed for reading The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale with greater understanding and appreciation.
- To enable learners to assess the merits of some established critical views of the plays, and to engage critically with modern productions on stage or film.
Course content overview
Our main focus in this course will be Shakespeare’s final masterpiece, The Tempest, a play which richly rewards detailed exploration. We will read it alongside another extraordinary late play, The Winter’s Tale, to discover what these fascinating works from Shakespeare’s innovative final period have in common, as well as what is strikingly individual about each. We will give attention along the way to their distinctive and self-conscious approaches to dramatic spectacle and storytelling; their endlessly thought-provoking exploration of political, moral and religious, and psychological themes; the rich poetic and dramatic means by which they conjure their special atmosphere of ‘wonder’; and more. All aboard for a journey to the ‘brave new world’ of Shakespeare’s final period!
Target audience
This course is for anyone who is interested in reading or watching Shakespeare with greater understanding, and anyone wanting to establish a basis for further study of Shakespeare's late plays.
This course is open to everyone, and you don’t need any previous knowledge or experience of the subject to attend.
Our short courses are designed especially for adult learners who want to advance their personal or professional development. They are taught by tutors who are expert in both their subjects and in teaching students of all ages and experiences.
Please note that all teaching is in English. You should have near-native command of the English language to get the maximum benefit from the course.
Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours of self-study time, for example, reading materials, although this will vary from person to person.
While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material).
Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the VLE so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (using discussion boards etc).
Fees
The course fee includes access to the course on our VLE, personal feedback on your work from an expert tutor, a certificate of participation (if you complete work and take part in discussions), and access to the class resources for two years after your course finishes.
Concessions
For more information, please see our concessions information page.
Alison Fordham Bursary
University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education is proud to offer the Alison Fordham bursary, which is awarded to students who wish to study on one of our short online courses via our VLE, reducing the fee paid by 50%. The bursary is limited to a single award for each set of online courses.
Application criteria:
- applicants should set out their personal learning motivations since priority will be given to those who are returning to learning after an extended break, or have not previously engaged with fully online learning, or are seeking to use the online short course as a bridge towards undergraduate award-bearing study
- applicants who can demonstrate financial need
For more information, please see our bursaries information page.
A certificate of participation and a digital credential will be awarded to those who contribute constructively to weekly discussions, exercises and assignments for the duration of the course.
